A wing ding deal for new BP/W wannabes

[kdupreez]

In general i reccommend people getting donut wings if they are in the market for a new wing.. if they already have a horse-shoe, thats works perfectly fine, but donuts in my experience just seem to ride a little better and dump a little easier.

For HP100 or LP85 (pretty much the same tanks) I'd recommend nothing less than 40lb wing and nothing more than 50lb.

I would also suggest you try a few wings a couple of times before you go out and buy one. mileage may vary on different brands and you need to find what works for you..

Any of the following will work great out here:

Halcyon Evolve 40 (Has a nylon inner bladder, made locally by hand.. This is what I personally dive)
DSS Torus 42 or 49 (Tobin makes great gear and fantastic service)
Hollis C45 (I had some of these and they were fine)
LightMonkey 45 (Good wing, some people complain of dump valve location)
HOG 50 (Its also a Nylon bladder and by all reports I've heard this is a good wing)

if you want to take any of the above for a spin, I'm almost positive the wednesday crew has among them all of the above.

[Jeff Pack]

I have a DR rec exp, with the taco tabs setup properly, it dives pretty nice with a single tank.

[Dusty2]

I have a DR rec exp, with the taco tabs setup properly, it dives pretty nice with a single tank.

Yep so did mine

[kdupreez]

I had a diverite rec exp. was ok for singles, but pinched holes twice with doubles between the plate and tanks ($70 a pop to have it repaired), then got rid of it and bought a proper doubles wing. Rec EXP's are ok for single and smaller double tanks, but realistically they are too big for singles (hence the taco tabs) and too narrow behind the plate for doubles and gets pinched between doubles and tanks...

If there is one thing that i've learnt, those dual purpose single/double wings work OK-ish, but eventually I ended up with wing for doubles and a wing for singles and was happier for it.

Dont get me wrong, not trying to convince you one way or the other, but if you are primarily diving singles or doubles, I would buy a wing fit for that purpose.

[fishb0y]

I will try to convince you... I'm sure you've heard of the phrase "cheap is expensive". This is one of those cases. One of my buddies finally decided to get a BP/W and even went to a diveshop in the Kitsap area with a list he wanted from Dive Rite. Everything was ordered except for the wing, which the manager said he could buy from him (against my recommendation)... a dual bladder that "he could use for both singles and doubles (he never dives doubles) diving"
Long story short, he got it in the water and hated it. I finally convinced him to get a proper singles wing and now he couldn't be happier... albeit $150 poorer.

[Jeff Pack]

I had a diverite rec exp. was ok for singles, but pinched holes twice with doubles between the plate and tanks ($70 a pop to have it repaired), then got rid of it and bought a proper doubles wing. Rec EXP's are ok for single and smaller double tanks, but realistically they are too big for singles (hence the taco tabs) and too narrow behind the plate for doubles and gets pinched between doubles and tanks...

If there is one thing that i've learnt, those dual purpose single/double wings work OK-ish, but eventually I ended up with wing for doubles and a wing for singles and was happier for it.

Dont get me wrong, not trying to convince you one way or the other, but if you are primarily diving singles or doubles, I would buy a wing fit for that purpose.

I agree, I dont think from seeing how it fits single tank, its really a good doubles wing at all. Another thing I like about DR wings is you have the option of a longer hose (up to 22in) and shoulder dump.

[kdupreez]

Another thing I like about DR wings is you have the option of a longer hose (up to 22in) and shoulder dump.

Thats exactly what I didnt like about the DR (shoulder dump) and first thing I replaced (long hose with shorter) on the Hollis I had..

[ArcticDiver]

Another thing I like about DR wings is you have the option of a longer hose (up to 22in) and shoulder dump.

Thats exactly what I didnt like about the DR (shoulder dump) and first thing I replaced (long hose with shorter) on the Hollis I had..

Confused. You didn't like having the option on the DiveRite of selecting the length hose you wanted?

(When I bought my last DiveRite I was asked to specify what length hose I wanted. The butt dump stayed the same but the shoulder hose/dump length was my choice)

[Jeff Pack]

Shoulder dumps are evil, and you will die a flaming, miserable, wet death using one.

[kdupreez]

Confused. You didn't like having the option on the DiveRite of selecting the length hose you wanted

The "Hollis" one was too long and I replaced it.. but to your point, when I bough my DiveRite at LDS off the shelf a few years ago, there was actually no length option.. (but it was the desired length, I just hated the leaky shoulder dump because I never cleaned or used it..)

[ArcticDiver]

Confused. You didn't like having the option on the DiveRite of selecting the length hose you wanted

The "Hollis" one was too long and I replaced it.. but to your point, when I bough my DiveRite at LDS off the shelf a few years ago, there was actually no length option.. (but it was the desired length, I just hated the leaky shoulder dump because I never cleaned or used it..)

If I have this correct neither the DiveRite nor the Hollis were configured to your taste. Then you just dove the DiveRite with minimal maintenance until you decided to change to the Hollis. Then you modified it to suit your desire. My only question is why you didn't change or repair the "leaky shoulder dump" on the DiveRite?

Of course, doing a lot of things solo, I'm positively anal about my kit. I'll Red X something faulty at the drop of a hat.

[kdupreez]

nope, you dont have it correct.. i didnt toss the DiveRite because of the crappy shoulder dump that I never used.. I tossed it because its a crappy doubles wing that was prone to pinching and I didnt care for it.

[CaptnJack]

I currently use a Hollis Doubles 45lb wing with pst 100's, 5lbs of lead, an Al80 Stage, and Al40 deco bottle. Which is the max I would use with the wing, but it keeps my head above water on the surface and trims beautifully at depth.

To dive double 100s with only 5lbs of lead you are either wearing: the thinnest Puget Sound undergarment in history, have a triple thick backplate, or are underweighted. Something does not compute for me.

Agree that a 58lb wing is a bit large for hp100s but not rediculously so. Oh and just say no to dual purpose wings. Everyone I know (myself included) regrets that "money saving" strategy.

[kdupreez]

To dive double 100s with only 5lbs of lead you are either wearing: the thinnest Puget Sound undergarment in history, have a triple thick backplate, or are underweighted. Something does not compute for me.

Agreed. I think it would be a good use of your time to bleed your tanks down to <500psi (deco bottles included) and see if you can hold a stop at 10ft.

[Mortuus]

To dive double 100s with only 5lbs of lead you are either wearing: the thinnest Puget Sound undergarment in history, have a triple thick backplate, or are underweighted. Something does not compute for me.

Agreed. I think it would be a good use of your time to bleed your tanks down to <500psi (deco bottles included) and see if you can hold a stop at 10ft.

+1. I wear far more lead than that with my LP108s

[ArcticDiver]

nope, you dont have it correct.. i didnt toss the DiveRite because of the crappy shoulder dump that I never used.. I tossed it because its a crappy doubles wing that was prone to pinching and I didnt care for it.

Thanks, I think I have it now. You just didn't like the wing and it had features you didn't use so you went to a different brand that you like better. Thanks for clarifying.

[Rooinater]

I have had them drained to 200psi without any weight and still sink. I'm really warm blooded, and a polartec fleece keeps me warm even when slightly damp for up to 2 hour dives with a crushed neoprene suit. The 5lbs is for the bottle.


So you can assume as you may, but they have already been drained.

[CaptnJack]

I have had them drained to 200psi without any weight and still sink. I'm really warm blooded, and a polartec fleece keeps me warm even when slightly damp for up to 2 hour dives with a crushed neoprene suit. The 5lbs is for the bottle.

So you can assume as you may, but they have already been drained.

You must have a 10 or 12lb belt for single tanks diving then. Wicked lucky, mine's a total beetch.

[Rooinater]

You must have a 10 or 12lb belt for single tanks diving then. Wicked lucky, mine's a total beetch.

I couldn't tell you for sure, I was always overweighed when I used to dive singles. I haven't dove a single steel tank in at least 3 years, and any weighting was before I had a 20amp/hr 3lb negative can light to add in the weighting. I believe it was around 10 to 12lbs plus a sta after I switched to a backplate setup, since I only had 2- 6lb weight pouches, and was looking at getting the small dive rite quick release weight pouches, before I started diving doubles all the time, it's a safe bet I remember correctly.

[kdupreez]

I have had them drained to 200psi without any weight and still sink. I'm really warm blooded, and a polartec fleece keeps me warm even when slightly damp for up to 2 hour dives with a crushed neoprene suit. The 5lbs is for the bottle.


So you can assume as you may, but they have already been drained.

Yeah, consider yourself on the lucky end of the scale in terms of body composition then! a know a couple people who can do the same with only a 3lb tail weight and thick 400g undergarment.

I'm on at least 9lb extra to keep me comfy with empty tanks and a decent undergarment.

[HakkTW]

I'm in the same range as Rooinator. With HP100's, my TLS350 and Halo 3D over powerstretch base layer I use a 4-5 lb tail weight. Still negative below 500psi. If I am carrying stages or deco (which I basically never do with my 100's, usually my 104's) I use a 7lb v-weight.

[fnerg]

I'm wearing 4lbs with double Worthington 100s and a Bare D6, and I really only use the weight to trim me out a little bit. With a single tank, I only needed about 13 lbs at 500psi with a steel 119. I'm not particularly trim, so my theory is that the graduation dive for my tech class just compressed me somehow, so I'm more dense now.

[Mortuus]

You guys are ridiculous, and I envy your natural body density

[CaptnJack]

You guys are ridiculous, and I envy your natural body density

Us skinny guys have a higher surface area to volume ratio and contrary to popular conception need more lead.

[Jeff Pack]

I'm not particularly trim, so my theory is that the graduation dive for my tech class just compressed me somehow, so I'm more dense now.